Over the centuries the Judean desert has been home to a lot of Christian monasticism, from individual hermits (anchorite) to monastic communities (cenobite). Some monks split the difference, living out in a cave by themselves during the week, then coming back to the monastery on the weekends to touch base and restock.
We hiked with a group from Tantur to the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. George early one morning-- a stunning place. It is still active, though only a few monks live there now. After visiting the monastery, we continued down through the desert, along a gorge called the Wadi Qelt, coming out at Jericho just above the Dead Sea. Some pictures from the hike are posted in the column of photos on the right.
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